Fanning Dempsey National Park has been one of the most exciting Australian music collaborations of the year. And after opening ears and eyes with their ’80s and synth-tinged record, Bernard Fanning and Paul Dempsey managed to successfully transfer it into the live environment, with some added heartwarming throwbacks.
The ex-Powderfinger frontman and Something for Kate frontman are not only beloved for their work in their OG bands, but they’ve carved out some notable solo endeavours as well. Fans have been tantalised over a potential collaboration for a while, and this year it finally came to life with the August release of The Deluge, an ’80s pop-themed album which sounded nothing like their former work.
The Forum stage was well decked out to bring it to life, with plenty of keyboards in place and a simple but effective lighting setup surrounding the backing band in the theme of the album’s artwork.
Unsurprisingly, all 10 tracks from The Deluge got an airing throughout the night – half of them in the first chunk of the show including the title track and bouncy first single “Disconnect.” Fanning was surprised at how much fans had got into the album, and pointed out one fan early on who looked like they were singing every word. Meanwhile, Dempsey showed off his guitar prowess with plenty of fret work recreating some of the unique sounds from the studio cuts of the album tracks.
While the new material was warmly received, both men know their audience and fanbases too well to not dip into their beloved individual back catalogues. The remainder of the night consisted of a smartly-structured set intertwining tracks from The Deluge with segments dedicated to both men’s solo and band work, as well as covers of some of their favourite tracks which they didn’t write themselves.
The singalong levels soared highest for Fanning’s “Wish You Well” and the surprise cover of Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” with support act Merpire. But the biggest delights came from seeing both men combine for their bands’ biggest hits, Fanning slotting in effortlessly for a verse on Something for Kate’s “Monsters” and Dempsey doing the same for Powderfinger’s classic “Pick You Up.”
The duo also showed in the encore how well they complement each other in their cover of Queen and David Bowie’s “Under Pressure” – with Dempsey nailing Freddie Mercury’s high notes and Fanning replicating Bowie’s lower tones. Upbeat album track “Arms Wide Open” brought the night to a close, one which served its purpose of showing these two much-loved frontmen and their project together, with a hearty dose of feel-good nostalgia slotted throughout.
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They have only five live performances and one collective album to their name, but it would be fair to say those in attendence enjoyed their visit to Fanning Dempsey National Park, and would happily make some return trips depending on what could evolve there in the future.
